Mackinaw Travel Diary: Days 3 and 4

The last two days of our trip! More on the island and a cute iris farm.

The charms of Mackinac Island are endless. From the old houses (victorian and colonial styles are abundant), to the lilacs, the endless beautiful views, and cluster of small shops on the main drag where you are required to stock up on fudge (Ryba's is the BEST, I promise!) there are so many things to do. The pace is nice and relaxed thanks to the absence of cars and the friendly atmosphere so you never feel rushed in whatever you choose to do.

On day 3 of our trip we traveled back to the island, by ferry of course, and booked a carriage tour. Now, there are a few different ways to explore the island. By bike is the most obvious and popular but you can go by horse carriage driven by a tour guide, which is the easiest choice that offers interesting facts and stops. If you don't want a big tour carriage you can rent your own horse and carriage after a short lesson and steer yourself around the island. And don't worry, the horses they use for this are the most docile and experienced on the island. Another way to do it? By riding a horse. You can rent a horse to ride around for an hour, or more, and guide yourself around on horseback. Again, these horses are very docile and the least likely to sass you on the island as long as you understand and respect them. In fact, these horses are so experienced that if you just let them go where they want they'd lead you right back to their barn.

Since renting a horse and carriage is decidedly expensive and Matt has zero experience around horses we chose to go with the carriage tour. It took up most of the day and brought us to all the key sights of Mackinac Island. We went to Arch Rock, Skull Cave (which, by the way, is NOT worth being the end destination of any hike. It's pretty unexciting.), and then to the butterfly house, Fort Michilimack, the Grand Hotel, and officially ends in downtown where it started. Along the way your tour guide will fill you in with facts about the horse teams and whatever else is around and you pass by so many gorgeous houses it's hard not to gawk.

We hopped off the carriage at the Grand Hotel so we could grab ice cream at Sadie's Ice Cream Parlor. You have to pay admission to actually go into the Grand Hotel to do a self-guided tour and eat at the inside restaurants. Inside is gorgeous and very vintage inspired, think tons of loud prints and ornate touches. We didn't go inside this year, but I recommend it for sure. Just make sure to be dressed up if you go in the evening. The ice cream parlor is the only part of the hotel that doesn't require admission and serves amazing ice cream.

We spent our last night up there watching the sunset at the base of the Mackinaw Bridge. Our next day we packed up everything into the car and went to a nearby lighthouse on a last minute whim. It's called McGulpin Point Lighthouse and is worth checking out if you've ever wanted to climb up the tower. For only three dollars a person you are given access to the whole building, including the 50 foot tower. Being that high up gives the best views of the water and the bridge.

After leaving the lighthouse we decided to make another last minute stop at an iris farm in Traverse City, which only added an extra hour to our trip home. Unfortunately most of the irises had already bloomed and the vast majority of the farm was dead. But, we did get to explore the full blooming glory of their rose gardens. Huge rose bushes among peonies and daisies crowding into a secret pathway made the farm worth a stop. The sound of the bees was so loud as we wandered through, honestly that garden was magical and breathtaking. Major garden goals.

We left the farm drunk on the scent of fresh roses and drove along the coastline of Lake Michigan to home.